Shloka 12

नरकयातनावर्णनम् / Description of Hell-Torments for Specific Transgressions

Devanagari script

स्पर्शदोषेण ये मूढास्स्पृशंति च परस्त्रियम् । तेषां करोऽग्निवर्णाभिः पांशुभिः पूर्य्यते भृशम्

Transliteration

sparśadoṣeṇa ye mūḍhāsspṛśaṃti ca parastriyam | teṣāṃ karo'gnivarṇābhiḥ pāṃśubhiḥ pūryyate bhṛśam

Translation

ಸ್ಪರ್ಶದೋಷದಿಂದ ಪರಸ್ತ್ರೀಯನ್ನು (ಅನುಚಿತವಾಗಿ) ಸ್ಪರ್ಶಿಸುವ ಮೂಢರ ಕೈಗಳು ಅಗ್ನಿವರ್ಣದ ಭಸ್ಮಸಮಾನ ಧೂಳಿನಿಂದ ಬಹಳವಾಗಿ ತುಂಬಿಬಿಡುತ್ತವೆ—ಆ ಅಪರಾಧದ ದಹನಚಿಹ್ನೆಯಂತೆ.

Word by Word

• sparśa-doṣeṇa: by the fault of touch
• sparśa-doṣeṇa: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument; causal means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sparśa + doṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa: sparśa ‘touch’ + doṣa ‘fault’; Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd), Ekavacana

• ye: who (those who)
• ye: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma; Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti (1st), Bahuvacana

• mūḍhāḥ: the deluded (people)
• mūḍhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti (1st), Bahuvacana; used substantively

• spṛśanti: touch
• spṛśanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: spṛś (धातु)
• Form: Dhātu: √spṛś (स्पृश्) ‘to touch’; Laṭ-lakāra (present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Bahuvacana

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction

• para-striyam: another man’s woman
• para-striyam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para + strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya: para ‘another’s’ + strī ‘woman’; Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā vibhakti (2nd), Ekavacana

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma; Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (6th), Bahuvacana

• karaḥ: the hand
• karaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti (1st), Ekavacana

• agni-varṇābhiḥ: with fire-colored
• agni-varṇābhiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: agni + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa: agni-varṇa ‘fire-colored’; Strīliṅga, Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd), Bahuvacana; qualifies pāṃśubhiḥ

• pāṃśubhiḥ: with dust/ashes
• pāṃśubhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṃśu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd), Bahuvacana

• pūryate: is filled
• pūryate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pṝ (धातु)
• Form: Dhātu: √pṝ/√pūr (पूर्) ‘to fill’; Laṭ-lakāra (present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana; Ātmanepada, passive sense (कर्मणि प्रयोग)

• bhṛśam: excessively; greatly
• bhṛśam: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhṛśam (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Bhairava

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It warns that adharma—especially violating marital boundaries—creates a burning karmic imprint (pāśa/bondage). In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, such impurity strengthens pasha and obstructs the soul’s clarity needed for Shiva-realization.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Linga-worship emphasizes purity of body, speech, and mind; this verse highlights restraint as a prerequisite for approaching Saguna Shiva with integrity. Ethical discipline supports genuine devotion and makes ritual worship spiritually effective rather than merely external.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice self-restraint (brahmacharya in conduct), daily japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and purification disciplines such as Tripuṇḍra-bhasma with remembrance of Shiva—using worship to burn impurities rather than feed them.